AR-548 Scimitar
Overview The AR-548 "Scimitar" Assault Rifle, more commonly referred to as "the Scimitar" or "the Assault Rifle," is the standard issue weapon for every USIF Armored Infantry soldier. It is fitted with an Mk2 Electro-magnetic jacketing system, and fires a 15mm gauss-propelled armor-piercing slug. The Mk2 EMJ system layers each round into a harmonically tuned electromagnetic frequency, allowing it to wear down shields faster and makes it particularly effective at tearing through the armor of enemy infantry. History The AR-548 is the earliest known model of the Scimitar weapon line. It is assumed to have entered service near the time the USIF Powered Assault Armor began to come into use, since the weapon is far too powerful for standard infantry to handle. The weapon proved extremely lethal and has since received system upgrades to link the weapon statistics with the soldier's HUD, such as ammunition count, available attachments, accuracy, and bore temperature. The rebel army Arm of Orion found the weapon to be so effective that they eventually stole several schematics and reverse-engineered it to create their own version, known as the REC-74 War Dragon, thus starting the Arm's reverse-engineering of USIF weapons. Shortly after the USIF's victory over the Arm in the Outer Rim War, an improved model of the Scimitar was issued to its soldiers. This version retains all basic features of the original Scimitar like the sixty round battery clip and Mk2 EMJ system with gauss-propelled rounds, but features a sleeker design, larger smartlink scope, improved rate of fire, and better muzzle stability that reduces bullet spread over prolonged fire. In addition, the improved Scimitar is now able to incorporate different ammo modifications like the original rail rounds or harder hitting slug rounds that are more effective against armor, but less so against shielding; the weapon can even have a "smart" ammo mod installed into it, allowing it to automatically switch between rail rounds during medium to long range skirmishes, and then to slug rounds for close range confrontations. The improved Scimitar would serve the USIF well in later campaigns, particularly in its battles against the ruthless Orion's Spear. Operation and Usage The AR-548 is a powerful, long ranged, electro-magnetically accelerated (gauss) rifle. This means that the bullets are launched out of the barrel magnetically, utilizing a large array of linear propulsion magnets lined down the inside of the barrel. It can be fired on full-auto accurately and at long range without the round "dipping" thanks to it's gauss propulsion system but rounds begin to splinter at long ranges when the trigger is held down too long. Using the AR-548's built-in smartlink scope can significantly improve the weapon's accuracy, as well as firing in short bursts or single shots, kneeling, or making use of gyro stabilizers. Ammunition The AR-548 uses small, disk shaped batteries to power the gauss system and propel the 15mm round out of the barrel, meaning the rounds require absolutely no gun powder whatsoever. Each battery can power the propulsion of 60 rounds. With a soldier's standard carrying capacity of 8 batteries, this gives the user a maximum of 480 rounds. The weapon's large magazine, located under the mid-section of the gun, can hold one thousand rounds. Because of this, actual ammunition is hardly ever a problem in the field, only obtaining the necessary batteries to propel the gauss rounds. Gameplay The gun is a good all-around weapon; it can engage enemies at mid- to long range with good precision and can unleash a reasonable amount of damage to both shielding and armor alike. Like most weapons, if one can close to a range of 5 to 6 meters or closer, the electro-magnetic jacketed bullets ignore shielding and automatically damage the health of an enemy. At close range, it can bring down an enemy player with sustained fire in approximately 2-3 seconds. Trivia Alex Corde is seen holding the Scimitar in all of the promotional videos and pictures for Section 8, showing that it is likely his favorite weapon of choice. Category:Weapons Category:USIF Weapons